Electrical prong receiving circuit closing connector



\N. C. HOLDEN Jul 9, 1940.

ELECTRICAL PRONG RECEIVING CIRCUIT CLOSING CONNECTOR Filed Dec, 3, 1938 INVENTOR. WzZZz'am 6. Holden,

A TTORNEYS RMA DM I Patented July 9, 1940 ELECTRICAL PRONG RECEIVING CIRCUIT CLOSING CONNECTOR William c. Holden, Ossining, N. Y.

Application December 3, 1938, Serial No. 243,789

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improvement in prong switch plug-in connectors for connecting electric devices into an electric circuit, and the present plug-in connector has for its principal object the provision of means whereby any standard prong plug switch may be readily connected thereto with ease, even when the plug is not within sight.

It is well known that it is difiicult to instantly connect a prong plug switch with an apertured or channeled plug connector of the present standard types, because of the difficulty of registering the prongs of the plug-in switch with the entrant portion of said channels of the plug connector, even when the plug connector is in sight.

A further disadvantage in connecting the two plugs together is due to the fact that most of these channeled connector plugs are located in the base board of a room near the floor-surface, and the plug-in channels are inconveniently located and are thus difficult to locate by the prongs of the cooperating switch member.

The present improvement is designed to overcome the above noted difliculty, and due to the modifications of the front apertured face of the channeled plug, it is merely necessary to first cause the prongs of the plug-in connectors to contact with said apertured face, and then by a simple twisting motion of the pronged connector the prongs are substantially instantly registered with the entrant portions of the apertures and are then easily entered thereinforcontact;

The foregoing and other features of advantage and functions will be apprehended as the herein construction proceeds and it will be obvious that modifications may be made in the structure herein disclosed without departing from the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the present apertured plug connector;

Fig. 2 is a front or plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the plug and prong connector in side elevation;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a flush type of plugin base or wall receptacle showing a modified form of plug therein, taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of Fig. 4.

As disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the general construction of the channeled plug connector is substantially of the standard and approved type.

The important, featural departure from the standard construction is one that changes the front, apertured prong entrance face. This change consists in providing said front face with an inwardly inclined, unobstructed surface I, which may be fiat or curved, said surface commencing at the outer or perimetral edge 3', Figs. 1 and 2, being depressed, and inclining inwardly towards the axis of the plug. At the inward terminus of the inclined surface I is provided a preferably circular or annular, shallow recess or prong steering well 2, at the circular wall 2' of which, and opposed to one another, are located two prong receiving apertured channels 'l 'l. These channels extend into the dielectric body 3 in the usual manner. Each of the channels house the usual conductive spring contacts 4-4, one of which is in electrical connection with the central contact 6, the other contact 4 being in electrical connection with the usual threaded conductor socket connecting ferrule 5.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the outer faces of the slot like apertures of channels l 'l merge into the wall diameter 2 of the steering recess Ill, so that the apertured entrances 1-1 are flush with the wall 2, on one outer side of each aperture. This provision of recess and location of apertures, including the steering face I, enables the user to rapidly register the contacts of a pronged switch with the cooperating switch apertures, after the prongs 9-9 have been operatively registered by the wall 2' of recess l0. Also the cylindrical wall 2 serves as a stop means to stop the prongs after they have been guided into the well 2 and to prevent the prongs from leaving the well.

As a further feature of construction, and as illustrated in Fig. 3, the diameter of the recess I0 is slightly larger than the distance between the outer faces of the spaced apart prongs 9-9, so that upon primary contact the ends of said prongs with the surface I with a slight inward pressure, they tend to immediately slide towards the central well Ill, into which the prong ends then enter, and being held in such registered positions, a twist of the pronged connector instantly causes the prongs to be rotatively guided towards and into the apertured channels 1-1, and at the instant of contact therewith, to enter the saidchannels and to then contact with spring contacts 4-4 located in said apertures.

The operation of manually connecting the plugs together as above described is positive, rapid and is accomplished without fumbling.

The plug, 3, slightly modified, apertured, over that illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, may also be used as a fixed plug in a receptacle H which may be used in has boards or walls, as an insert,

in which event the threadless plug 3, Figs. 4 and 5, may be fixedly mounted in the housing II, by a support bracket B, which is suitably flxed to and in the interior of said housing, the entrant face I of the plug being exposed through an opening IS in the beveled escutcheon plate l6 and a support plate 15'. The escutcheon plate i is affixed to the inner support plate l5, by screws l|-i'l, the inner support plate I5 being in turn aflixed tothe surrounding flanges l 2 of said housing II by screws l3--l3.

The perimetral edge 3 of said plug may be arranged to extend a slight distance beyond the outer plane of the escutcheon plate l8, as illustrated in Fig. 4, so that the act of entering the prongs of a switch plug into circuit closing position is facilitated. The apertures spring contacts 4-4, the recess Ill, the recessed "prong steering face I and their relative operative locations are as described for Fig. 3.

The spring connectors 4-4 in apertures 1-1, are each connected to their respective inner terminals 5 and B, so that they may be respectively connected to opposite legs of an electric circuit not shown, but understood.

The receptacle housing ll, may be provided with the usual knock-outs, for admitting wiring connections not shown from the exterior to the interior in the usual manner. Two of these knockouts l8--l8, are shown in Fig. 4.

The general operation of the present device is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the pronged connector 8, provided with dual prongs, one of which 9, is shown in initial position'and its end in registered contact with the surface 2 of recess l0, having initially been random contacted with the surface 2, as shown by the dotted lines 9, is thereafter brought into alinement, and than twisted to bring the prongs to registry with the entrant portions of the channels 4-4, as shown by 9", Fig. 3, and then the prongs may be pushed inwardly to electrical contact with contacts 4-4. In seating the prongs 9 in channels 4, a right or left hand twist may be used to seat the prongs.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. An electrical connection comprising a body of insulating material having its front face provided with prong-receiving apertures; stop means providing a disk shaped recess on said body, said recess having a bottom and a cylindrical inner face substantialy perpendicular to said bottom and forming substantial continuations of the outer walls of the apertures; the

55 distance between the outer walls of said apertures being substantially as great as the diameter of said recess; and means providing an outwardly flaring guide face extending from the outer margin of said cylindrical face and adapted to be engaged by the ends of the prongs for automatically guiding and camming the prongs toward and into said recess as the prongs are pressed against the guide face, said bottom being of a form to permit passage of the prongs thereacross without obstruction and into the recess and to said cylindrical inner face; said inner face being extended substantially perpendicularly from the bottom of the recess a distance sufiicient to cause said prongs, when automatically guided by the guide face to the recess, to drop into said recess and onto said bottom with a definite distinct drop, thereby to distinctly indicate that the prongs have moved into the recess into position to be, on rotation of the plu guided by the cylindrical face to said apertures; said inner face providing a substantially positive stop to stop the prongs when moved across the guide face into the recess.

2. An electrical connection comprising a body of insulating material having its front face provided with prong-receiving apertures; stop means providing a disk shaped recess on said body, said recess having a flat bottom and a cylindrical inner face substantially perpendicular to said flat bottom and forming substantial continuations of the outer walls of the apertures; the distance between the outer walls of said apertures being substantially as great as the diameter of said recess; and means providing an outwardly flaring guide face extending from the outer margin of said cylindrical face and adapted to be engaged by the ends of the prongs for guiding and camming the prongs into said recess as the prongs are pressed against the guide face, said flat bottom being free of any projection and allowing the prongs to be thus guided transversely across and into the recess and to said cylindrical face without obstruction; said inner face being extended substantially perpendicularly from; said flat bottom a distance suflicient to causeisaid prongs, when guided by the guide face to the recess, to drop into said recess and onto said flat bottom with a definite distinct drop, thereby to distinctly indicate that the prongs have 'oved into the recess into position to be, on rotation of the plug, guided by the cylindrical face togsaid apertures; said inner face providing a substantially positive stop to stop the prongs when moved across the guide face into the recess.

WILLIAM C. HOLDEN. 

